System and method for estimating reliability of components for testing and quality optimization

ABSTRACT

A system and method for determining the early life reliability of an electronic component, including classifying the electronic component based on an initial determination of a number of fatal defects, and estimating a probability of latent defects present in the electronic component based on that classification with the aim of optimizing test costs and product quality.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Patent Application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 10/274,439, filed on Oct. 18, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,194,366which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.60/347,974, filed Oct. 19, 2001; U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 60/335,108, filed Oct. 23, 2001; and U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/366,109, filed Mar. 20, 2002; all of which arehereby incorporated by reference in their entireties for all purposes.

The U.S. Government has a paid-up license in this invention and theright in limited circumstances to require the patent owner to licenseothers on reasonable terms as provided for by the terms ofContract/Grant No. NSF-CCRL-9912389 awarded by the National ScienceFoundation (NSF).

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of reliabilitytesting and engineering; and more particularly to a yield-reliabilitymodel based system and method for classifying electronic components andother devices including integrated circuits and memory chips based onpredicted early life reliability to allow optimization of test costs andproduct quality.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Electronic components such as integrated circuits, including memorychips, often fail due to flaws resulting from the manufacturing process.Indeed, even as manufacturing processes are improved to reduce defectrates, increasingly complex chip designs require finer and finercircuitry, pushing the limits of the improved manufacturing processesand increasing the potential for defects. Electronic components arecommonly subjected to an initial wafer probe test after production ofthe wafer from which the components are separated, in order to detectcatastrophic or “killer” defects in their circuitry. Wafer probetesting, however, typically will not detect less severe or “latent”defects in the circuitry that may nevertheless result in early-lifefailure or “infant mortality” of a component.

Although the percentage of electronic components such as memory chipsand integrated circuits that are manufactured with latent defects may berelatively small (for example on the order of 1-4%), many modernelectronic devices incorporate up to fifty or more such components.Early-life failure of any one of these components may destroy orsignificantly degrade the performance of the overall device. As aresult, even a small percentage of latent defects in the components canproduce an undesirably high rate of failure in the assembled device.

In order to reduce the incidence of infant mortality and therebyincrease reliability, many manufacturers subject their components toaccelerated life-cycle testing, referred to as stress testing or“burn-in”. During burn-in, some or all of the components produced arestress-tested by subjecting them to elevated temperature, voltage,and/or other non-optimal condition(s) in order to precipitate componentfailure resulting from latent defects that were not identified by theinitial wafer probe testing. Due to their very fine circuitry, however,many modern electronic components cannot withstand severe burn-inconditions without incurring damage, even to components that initiallyhad no latent defects. As a result, stress tests must now typically beperformed more gently, for example using lower temperature and/orvoltage conditions, thereby requiring longer duration burn-in periods toidentify latent defects. In addition, the stress testing conditionsoften must be very carefully and precisely controlled. For example,because different chips within even a single production run may generatediffering amounts of heat during operation, burn-in of some types ofchips requires the provision of separate and individuallytemperature-controlled burn-in chambers for each chip being tested. Dueto the increased complexity and duration, the stress test or burn-inprocess represents a significant portion of the expense of many modernelectronic components.

In order to reduce the time and expense of component burn-in, a“binning” system and method have been developed. In many instances, bothkiller and latent defects result from like or related causes. Forexample, a dust particle may interrupt a conductive path entirely,resulting in a killer defect; or it may interrupt a conductive path onlypartially, resulting in a latent defect that passes the initial waferprobe test but produces an early life failure. Because many causes ofkiller and latent defects are localized, both types of defects are oftenfound to cluster in regions on a wafer. As a result, it has beendiscovered that a component is more likely to have a defect if itsneighboring components on the wafer also have defects. For example, acomponent that passes wafer-probe testing is more likely to have alatent defect if one or more of its neighboring components on the waferare found to have killer defects than if all of its neighboringcomponents on the wafer also pass wafer-probe testing. And it has beendiscovered that the likelihood of a component that passes wafer-probetesting having a latent defect increases with the number of neighboringcomponents that fail wafer-probe testing. By “binning” those componentsthat pass wafer-probe testing into separate groups depending on how manyof its neighbors failed wafer-probe testing, the components areseparated into groups expected to have greater or lesser degrees ofearly life reliability. For example, as seen with reference to FIG. 1, awafer 10 contains a plurality of components or die. Some of the die onwafer 10 contain killer defects, indicated with an “X”, which will failthe wafer-probe test. The remaining die do not contain killer defects,but may contain latent defects. Die without killer defects may becategorized depending on the number of neighboring die that have killerdefects. For example, die A has five immediately adjacent neighborsfound to have killer defects, die B has one immediately adjacentneighbor found to have a killer defect, and die C has no immediatelyadjacent neighbors found to have killer defects. Die categorized in thismanner may then be binned according to the number of immediatelyadjacent neighbors found to have killer defects. For example, if theeight immediately adjacent neighboring die on the wafer 10 areconsidered, each die will have between zero and eight neighbors withkiller defects. As shown in FIG. 2, die such as C, with no neighborshaving killer defects, will be placed in bin 0; die such as B, with oneneighbor having a killer defect, will be placed in bin 1; die with twoneighbors with killer defects will be placed in bin 3; and so on.

Since defects (killer and latent) tend to cluster in regions on thewafer, die in bin 0 will be statistically the least likely to havelatent defects, whereas die in bin 8 will be statistically the mostlikely to have latent defects. Die in the successive intermediate bins2-7 will have progressively greater statistical likelihood of havinglatent defects. By burn-in testing a representative sample of dies fromeach of the bins 1-8 (“sample burn-in”), the statistical likelihood oflatent defects for all die within each respective bin can be estimated.The remaining die in those bins having a statistically-estimatedlikelihood of latent defect that is lower than the specifiedfailure-in-time (“FIT”) rate (the maximum rate of burn-in failure deemedacceptable) need not be individually burned in, since on average theywill meet or exceed the desired reliability. The remaining die in thosebins having a statistically-estimated likelihood of latent defect thatis higher than the specified FIT rate may be subjected to individualburn-in testing. Although binning and sample burn-in can reduce the costof burn-in testing by eliminating the need to individually test some ofthe die (namely those die remaining in bins having astatistically-estimated likelihood of latent defect that is lower thanthe specified FIT rate after sampling), burn-in costs can still besignificant since a statistically significant sample of die from eachbin must be tested. These costs can add considerably to the cost ofcomponent manufacture. Thus, it can be seen that needs exist forimproved systems and methods for determining the reliability ofelectronic components and other devices including integrated circuitsand memory chips. It is to the provision of improved systems and methodsfor determining the reliability of electronic components and otherdevices meeting these and other needs that the present invention isprimarily directed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides improved systems and methods fordetermining the reliability of electronic components and other devicesincluding integrated circuits and memory chips. Although exampleembodiments will be described herein primarily with reference tointegrated circuits and memory chips, it will be understood that thesystems and methods of the present invention are also applicable toreliability testing of any component that exhibits manufacturing defectclustering. For example, nanotechnology devices such as molecularcomputing components, nanodevices and the like, may exhibit defectclustering in or on the base materials from which they are produced.

Example embodiments of the invention provide improved efficiency ofreliability testing of components based on a binning and statisticalmodeling system. Components are binned or otherwise classified based onthe number of neighboring components found to have defects by waferprobe or other form of initial testing. The number of neighboringcomponents included in the classification scheme is not critical. As fewas one neighboring component may be considered, but preferably all ofthe immediately neighboring components (typically numbering about 8) areconsidered. Neighboring components beyond the subject component'simmediate neighbors optionally also can be considered, but in manyinstances their consideration will not add significantly to the accuracyof the model. The classification or segregation of components based onthe number of defects includes classification or segregation based onthe presence or absence of defects (i.e., zero defects or greater thanzero defects), as well as classification or segregation based on theactual count of defects (i.e., one defect, two defects, three defects,etc.).

The reliability models employ statistical methods to capture the effectof defect distribution on the wafer (i.e., statistically modeling ameasure of the extent of defect clustering). While negative binomialstatistics are most widely used in practice and are suitable for use inthe example models disclosed herein, any statistical method that canreasonably model the clustering of defects on wafers may be employed.For example, the center-satellite model can also be used. Because theinvented methods relate wafer probe yield to early life reliability,most of the parameters needed by the reliability models can be readilyobtained from data available following wafer probe testing. Only anestimate for the ratio of killer to latent defects, or equivalentinformation, is needed for complete early life reliability predictionfor each bin. By sample testing components from fewer than all of thebins or classifications, the ratio of killer defects to latent defectsis determined. For example, a sample of components from only one bin orclassification need be tested. Preferably, a sample of components fromthe bin or classification having the maximum number of neighbors withkiller defects will be tested (i.e., the “worst” bin or classificationhaving the lowest expected reliability), as this classification willtypically contain the greatest percentage of latent defects (due todefect clustering), and will provide a statistically useful measure ofthe degree of defect clustering with the smallest sample size. Based onthis sample testing, the reliability of components in all of the binscan be estimated based on statistical modeling.

These reliability estimates can then be used to optimize subsequenttesting, e.g. burn-in, in a number of different ways. For example, thosebins determined to have a reliability rate equal to or higher than adesired or specified reliability rate need not be individually stresstested, or tested using a lower cost test such as a elevated voltagestress test instead of full burn-in. Further, if burn-in screening canensure failure rates in the stress tested bins to be well below thespecified reliability rates, then one or more bins with reliabilityrates somewhat below the specification can also avoid expensive burn-inas long as all the bins taken as a whole meet the overall reliabilityspecification. Burn-in duration for the different bins can also bevaried to achieve the desired reliability at minimum cost For example,components from bins with higher estimated reliability may be stresstested for a shorter duration than components from bins with lowerestimated reliability. Thus, the present invention obviates the need forburn-in testing of a sample of components from each bin to determine theburn-in fallout from each bin.

In other embodiments of the invention, the reliability of a chipcomprising redundant circuits that can be used to repair faultycircuitry (including, without limitation, memory chips and non-memorychips such as processor chips incorporating embedded memory) isstatistically estimated, and the circuits classified for subsequent testand quality optimization, based on the number of repairs made to thesubject chip itself. The need for repair, such as switching in one ormore redundant rows and/or columns of memory cells in redundant memorychips, typically results from an initial test indicating the presence ofa defect on the chip. Because latent defects are found to cluster withdefects observed by initial testing, a chip requiring memory repairs ismore likely to also have latent defects that were not observed byinitial testing than a chip that did not require memory repairs.Likewise, the greater the number of memory repairs required on a chip(thereby indicating a greater number of defects observed by initialtesting), the greater the likelihood of that chip also having latentdefects. In other words, the more memory repairs a chip required, theless reliable that chip is.

By sample testing to determine the ratio of latent to killer defects,the reliability of chips comprising redundant memory circuits isstatistically modeled based on the incidence of repairs. By binning orotherwise classifying components based on the number of repairsrequired, such as for example the number of redundant memory cells orarrays switched in, the reliability of components in each classificationis statistically determined. The classification or segregation ofcomponents based on the number of repairs required includesclassification or segregation based on the presence or absence ofrepairable defects (i.e., zero or greater than zero repairs required),as well as classification or segregation based on the actual count ofrepairable defects. Preferably, the statistical determination ofreliability is carried out by testing a sample of components from fewerthan all bins or classifications, most preferably from the bin orclassification of components requiring the greatest number of memoryrepairs (as this classification will provide a statistically usefulsample with the smallest sample size).

Stress testing of individual bins or classifications can then beoptimized in various ways. For example, bins determined to have areliability rate equal to or higher than a desired or specifiedreliability rate need not be individually tested. Optionally, the numberof repairs conducted on neighboring components on a semiconductor waferalso are factored into the reliability model. In further embodiments ofthe present invention, reliability modeling is based on both the numberof neighboring die found to have killer defects and the number ofredundant memory repairs performed on the subject die itself.

Example embodiments of the present invention advantageously enableoptimization of the duration of burn-in testing of components. Forexample, a shorter burn-in time can be used when testing a sample ofcomponents from the bin or classification that is statistically the mostlikely to have latent defects (i.e., the bin of components having themost neighbors with killer defects or the bin of components thatrequired the greatest number of redundant memory repairs) than would beneeded for testing components from the other bins or classifications, asa statistically significant number of failures due to latent defectswill generally take less time to precipitate from such a sample.

The system and method of the present invention are also well suited toreliability screening of die for use in multi-chip modules (MCMs) orother composite electronic devices assembled from components that cannotbe stress tested. Because burn-in testing of bare die for MCMs isdifficult and expensive, MCMs are typically burned in after assembly ofthe dies into an MCM. A single failing die generally results inscrapping of the entire high-cost MCM. Using only die from the bin orclassification that is statistically the least likely to have latentdefects (i.e., the bin of components having the least neighbors withkiller defects or the bin of components that required the fewest numberof redundant memory repairs) can significantly reduce scrap loss.

In one aspect, the invention is a method of determining the reliabilityof a component. The method preferably includes classifying the componentbased on an initial determination of a number of fatal defects. Themethod preferably further includes estimating a probability of latentdefects present in the component based on that classification, byintegrating yield information based on the initial determination of anumber of fatal defects with sample stress-testing data using astatistical defect-clustering model.

In another aspect, the invention is a method of determining thereliability of a repairable component. The method preferably includesperforming an initial test on the component to identify repairabledefects in the component. The method preferably further includesclassifying the component based on the number of repairable defectsidentified by the initial test.

In yet another aspect, the invention is a method of determining thereliability of a component. The method preferably includes classifyingthe component based on an initial determination of a number ofneighboring components having fatal defects. The method preferably alsoincludes testing a sample of components from fewer than all of aplurality of classifications to estimate a probability of latent defectspresent in the component.

In yet another aspect, the invention is a method for predicting thereliability of a component. The method preferably includes classifying acomponent into one of a plurality of classifications based on an initialtest. The method preferably also includes optimizing further testing ofthe component based on the classification thereof.

These and other aspects, features and advantages of the invention willbe understood with reference to the drawing figures and detaileddescription herein, and will be realized by means of the variouselements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appendedclaims. It is to be understood that both the foregoing generaldescription and the following brief description of the drawings anddetailed description of the invention are exemplary and explanatory ofpreferred embodiments of the invention, and are not restrictive of theinvention, as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

FIG. 1 shows a wafer comprising a plurality of die for reliabilitytesting according to an example embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows bins of die grouped according to an example embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 3 shows a typical nine die neighborhood of a semiconductor wafer,suitable for reliability modeling according to an example embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 4 shows a table of reliability failure probability for variouswafer probe yields and values of clustering parameter, determinedaccording to an example embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows the reliability failure probability for each of eight binsand for varying clustering parameter, determined according to an exampleembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 shows the fraction of die in each of eight bins for varyingclustering parameter values, according to an example embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 7 shows the reliability failure probability in bin 0, fraction ofdie in bin 0, and the improvement ratio as a function of wafer probeyield, determined according to an example embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 8 shows a schematic of a typical component with redundantrepairable memory cells.

FIG. 9 shows the burn-in failure probability for memory componentsrequiring 0, 1, 2 and 3 repairs, for various clustering parametervalues, determined according to one example embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 10 shows the burn-in failure probability for memory componentsrequiring 0, 1, 2 and 3 repairs, for various clustering parametervalues, determined according to another example embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 11 shows the burn-in failure probability for memory componentsrequiring 0, 1, 2 and 3 repairs, for various clustering parametervalues, determined according to another example embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 12 shows the burn-in failure probability for memory componentsrequiring 0, 1, 2 and 3 repairs, for various clustering parametervalues, determined according to another example embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 13 shows the relative failure probability for memory componentsrequiring two repairs, for various clustering parameter values andperfect wafer probe yields, determined according to an exampleembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 shows the burn-in failure probability for die with zero repairscompared to die with zero repairs and zero faulty neighbors, determinedaccording to an example embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 shows the burn-in failure probability for die with at least onerepair compared to die with zero repairs and zero faulty neighbors,determined according to an example embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention may be understood more readily by reference to thefollowing detailed description of the invention taken in connection withthe accompanying drawing figures, which form a part of this disclosure.It is to be understood that this invention is not limited to thespecific devices, methods, conditions or parameters described and/orshown herein, and that the terminology used herein is for the purpose ofdescribing particular embodiments by way of example only and is notintended to be limiting of the claimed invention. Also, as used in thespecification including the appended claims, the singular forms “a,”“an,” and “the” include the plural, and reference to a particularnumerical value includes at least that particular value, unless thecontext clearly dictates otherwise. Ranges may be expressed herein asfrom “about” or “approximately” one particular value and/or to “about”or “approximately” another particular value. When such a range isexpressed, another embodiment includes from the one particular valueand/or to the other particular value. Similarly, when values areexpressed as approximations, by use of the antecedent “about,” it willbe understood that the particular value forms another embodiment.

In example embodiments, one aspect of the present invention utilizes anintegrated yield-reliability model to estimate burn-in failure and localregion yield. Another aspect of the present invention uses an integratedyield-reliability model to estimate the rate of burn-in failure forrepairable memory chips. These models can be utilized separately or intandem, and are described in greater detail below, with reference to thedrawing figures.

Burn-in testing is used widely in the semiconductor industry to ensurethe quality and reliability of integrated circuits. The objective is toprecipitate early life failures through stress testing before the partsare shipped, and thereby maximize reliability in the field.Unfortunately, burning-in bare die is difficult and expensive. Tofurther complicate matters, the burning in of die can actually reducedie reliability in some cases, as by damaging defect-free delicatecircuitry by overstressing during burn-in. Also, the contact pins thatmake electrical connections to bare die during burn-in can scratch ordent the die's bonding pads. In MCM applications, some of these problemscan be avoided by burning-in the complete MCM package after assembly,rather than as individual die. This can, however, significantly increasethe cost of losses from scrapped parts, where failing die often cannotbe replaced to repair an MCM. Thus, a typical 1-2% burn-in fall-out ratefor individual ICs (and bare die) can result in an almost 10% burn-infall-out rate for a packaged 5-die MCM. Manufacturers are, therefore,highly motivated to select only the most reliable die for use in MCMassembly.

The majority of reliability failures of electronic components are earlylife or infant mortality failures. These failures can generally beattributed to flaws acquired during product manufacturing, andconsequently, are the same types of defects that cause failuresdetectable at wafer probe testing. One embodiment of the presentinvention uses yield models based on the number of circuit failuresoccurring at wafer probe to estimate reliability failures detectedduring stress testing or burn-in. Since defects are known to cluster,die from low yield regions of a wafer are found to be more susceptibleto both catastrophic failures or “killer defects” (detectable at waferprobe testing) and burn-in failures (due to “latent defects”). Low yieldregions of a wafer are known to result in test escape numbers (i.e.defect levels) up to an order of magnitude greater than high yieldregions of a wafer. Analysis of burn-in results suggests a similarrelationship between local region yield and early-life reliabilityfailures. One aspect of the present invention exploits this fact toobtain high quality (i.e. low burn-in fallout) die from high yieldingregions of wafers. In one application of the invention, such highquality die can be used in Multi-Chip Module (MCM) applications withoutthe need for expensive bare die burn-in tests.

The present invention uses an analytical model to predict the number ofburn-in failures one can expect following wafer probe testing. The modelis used to quantify the benefits of binning die based on local regionyield. Local yield information is incorporated into testing and can bedone easily, for example, by considering a central die and its 8adjacent neighbors. The number of neighboring die considered, isgenerally not critical, and more or fewer than 8 neighboring die can beconsidered. Extending the neighborhood beyond the 8 adjacent diehowever, typically impacts the results only marginally. Thus, in oneexample embodiment, test results over a 9 die neighborhood are taken todefine the neighborhood or local region yield. This is shown in FIG. 3.By sorting die that test good at wafer probe into 1 of 9 bins dependingon how many of their neighbors test faulty, one essentially separatesdie according to local region yield. Die in bin 0 have 0 faultyneighbors, die in bin 1 have 1 faulty neighbor, and so on until bin 8,where all neighbors were faulty. As in the case of defect levels, oneexpects die in the lower bins (i.e. from high yield regions) to exhibitsignificantly fewer burn-in failures than those in the higher numberedbins (i.e. from low yield regions).

Yield models for integrated circuits under the present inventionpreferably incorporate a determination of the average number of defectsper chip, generally denoted by λ. Traditionally, such models havefocused on those defects that cause failures detectable at wafer probetesting, while neglecting those defects that cause early life orreliability failures. The present invention recognizes that defects aregenerally of three possible types: killer defects, latent defects, anddefects that cause no failures at all. The latter of the three is of noconsequence with regard to actual circuit failures, and may therefore beneglected. Thus, one can writeλ=λ_(K)+λ_(L)  (1)where λ_(K) is the average number of killer defects and λ_(L) is theaverage number of latent defects. Killer defects are of sufficient sizeand placed in such a way as to cause an immediate circuit failure. Thesecan be detected at wafer probe testing. Latent defects, however, areeither too small and/or inappropriately placed to cause an immediatefailure. These defects, however, can cause early life failures in thefield. Defects that cause failures detectable at wafer probe are, ingeneral, fundamentally the same in nature as those which causereliability failures; size and placement typically being the primarydistinguishing features. Thus, it can be assumed that λ_(L) is linearlyrelated to λ_(K). Such an assumption has been shown to agree well withexperimental data over a wide range of yield values. Under thisassumption one may writeλ_(L)=γλ_(K)  (2)where γ is a constant.

The usefulness of equation (2) may be illustrated with a simple example.The simplest model for yield assumes that defects are distributedaccording to Poisson statistics. According to this model, the yieldfollowing wafer probe testing isY _(K)=exp(−λ_(K))  (3)

If the number of latent defects also follows a Poisson distribution thenone may writeY _(L)=exp(−λ_(L))  (4)Substituting (2) into (4) and using (3) relates the yields through theconstant γ. That is,Y _(L)=exp(−λ_(L))=exp(−γλ_(K))=Y _(K) ^(γ)  (5)

Notice that taking the logarithm of both sides of equation (5) gives alinear equation with slope γ. Previous research has used such anapproach on yield data from microprocessors fabricated in a 0.25 μmprocess to obtain a numerical value of γ. Plotting this data on alog-log scale they determined γ to fall within the range 0.01-0.02. Thatis, for every 100 killer defects, one expects, on average, 1-2 defectsto result in latent faults. While the actual value of γ is expected tobe process dependent, these values provide a useful order of magnitudeestimate.

Modeling Y_(K) with the Poisson yield equation has been found to be anover simplification. Indeed, such a model generally underestimates thevalue of Y_(K). This results from the fact that defects are not randomlydistributed as implied by a Poisson model, but are known to cluster.Qualitatively speaking, this simply means that defects are more likelyto be found in groups than by themselves. If such is the case, then theprobability that an individual die contains multiple defects increasesslightly. Consequently, although the total number of defects may remainthe same, the defects are contained within fewer die. The end result isan increased overall yield. Accordingly, preferred forms of the presentinvention favor negative binomial statistics over the Poisson yieldmodel.

Imagine that an experiment consists of placing a single defect on anintegrated circuit. The outcome of this experiment is therefore either akiller or latent defect. If these defects occur with probabilities p_(K)and p_(L), respectively, then a series of N such experiments will followa binomial distribution. Thus, if K(m) denotes the event of exactly mkiller defects and L(n) the event of exactly n latent defects, then,given a total of N defects, the probability of m killer and n latentdefects is given by

$\begin{matrix}{{P\left\lbrack {{K(m)}{L(n)}} \middle| N \right\rbrack} = {\begin{pmatrix}N \\m\end{pmatrix}p_{K}^{m}p_{L}^{n}}} & (6)\end{matrix}$where N=m+n and p_(K)+p_(L)=1. Note that (6) implies that the averagenumber of latent defects is λ_(L)=Np_(L). Similarly, λ_(K)=Np_(K). Thus,

$\lambda_{L} = {\frac{p_{L}}{p_{K}}{\lambda_{K}.}}$But from equation (2) we have that λ_(L)=γλ_(K). It follows that

$\gamma = {\frac{p_{L}}{p_{K}}.}$Combining this with the equation p_(K)+p_(L)=1 relates the probabilitiesfor latent and killer defects to the parameter γ. That is,

$\begin{matrix}{p_{L} = {{\left( \frac{\gamma}{1 + \gamma} \right)\mspace{14mu}{and}\mspace{14mu} p_{K}} = \left( \frac{1}{1 + \gamma} \right)}} & (7)\end{matrix}$Thus, for γ=0.01, p_(L)≈0.0099 and p_(K)≈0.9901.

Equation (6) specifies the probability of m killer and n latent defectsgiven N defects. If the value of N is not known, one must specify itsprobability as well. To do this, and to account for the clustering ofdefects, one assumes that the defects are distributed according tonegative binomial statistics. That is, if II(N) is the probability thatthere are exactly N defects over a specified area (e.g. the area of achip), then

$\begin{matrix}{{\prod(N)} = {\frac{\Gamma\left( {\alpha + N} \right)}{{N!}{\Gamma(\alpha)}}\frac{\left( \frac{\lambda}{\alpha} \right)^{N}}{\left( {1 + \frac{\lambda}{\alpha}} \right)^{\alpha + N}}}} & (8)\end{matrix}$where Γ(x) is the Gamma function, λ is the average number of defects(both killer and latent) over some specified area, and α is theclustering parameter. The value of α typically ranges from 0.5 to 5 fordifferent fabrication processes; the smaller values indicate increasedclustering. As α→∞ the negative binomial distribution becomes a PoissonDistribution, which is characterized by no clustering.

It is of particular interest to consider equation (8) when N=0. Thisgives the probability that a chip contains zero killer and zero latentdefects. That is,

$\begin{matrix}{Y = {{\prod(0)} = \left( {1 + \frac{\lambda}{\alpha}} \right)^{- \alpha}}} & (9)\end{matrix}$This is the yield following wafer probe and burn-in testing.

Although equation (9) gives the overall yield, it is advantageous tobreak it down further into the yield following wafer probe testing andthe yield following burn-in. Toward this end, consider the probabilityof exactly m killer and n latent defects. This can be written as

$\begin{matrix}{{P\left\lbrack {{K(m)}{L(n)}} \right\rbrack} = {\begin{pmatrix}N \\m\end{pmatrix}p_{K}^{m}p_{L}^{n}{\prod(N)}}} & (10)\end{matrix}$where N=m+n is the total number of defects over the given area. Toobtain the probability of exactly m killer defects regardless of thenumber of latent defects, one can sum P[K(m)L(n)] over n. That is,

$\begin{matrix}{{P\left\lbrack {K(m)} \right\rbrack} = {\sum\limits_{n = 0}^{\infty}{P\left\lbrack {{K(m)}{L(n)}} \right\rbrack}}} & (11)\end{matrix}$Substituting equation (10) into (11) and using the identity

$\frac{\Gamma\left( {\beta + n} \right)}{{n!}{\Gamma(\beta)}} = {\left( {- 1} \right)^{n}\begin{pmatrix}{- \beta} \\n\end{pmatrix}}$allows one to write the summation as a power series of the form

${A{\sum\limits_{n = 0}^{\infty}{\begin{pmatrix}{- \beta} \\n\end{pmatrix}\left( {- x} \right)^{n}}}} = {{A\left( {1 - x} \right)}^{- \beta}.}$The probability of exactly m killer defects can then be written as

$\begin{matrix}{{P\left\lbrack {K(m)} \right\rbrack} = {\frac{\Gamma\left( {\alpha + m} \right)}{{m!}{\Gamma(\alpha)}}\frac{\left( \frac{\lambda_{K}}{\alpha} \right)^{m}}{\left( {1 + \frac{\lambda_{K}}{\alpha}} \right)^{\alpha + m}}}} & (12)\end{matrix}$where λ_(K)=p_(K)λ. Thus, the number of killer defects follows anegative binomial distribution with parameters (λ_(K), α) This showsthat the integrated yield-reliability model does not change the standardyield formula for predicting wafer probe failures. In particular,according to equation (23), the yield following wafer probe testing isgiven by

$\begin{matrix}{Y_{K} = {{P\left\lbrack {K(0)} \right\rbrack} = \left( {1 + \frac{\lambda_{K}}{\alpha}} \right)^{- \alpha}}} & (13)\end{matrix}$Defining the reliability yield Y_(L) as the number of die which arefunctional following burn-in divided by the number of die which passedwafer probe, one can write Y_(L)=P[L(0)|K(0)]. In words, Y_(L) is theprobability of zero latent defects given that there are zero killerdefects. From Bayes' Rule P[K(0)L(0)]=P[L(0)|K(0)]P[K(0)] it followsthat Y=Y_(K)Y_(L). Hence,

$\begin{matrix}{Y_{L} = {\frac{Y}{Y_{K}} = \left( {1 + \frac{\lambda_{L}(0)}{\alpha}} \right)^{- \alpha}}} & (14)\end{matrix}$where λ_(L)(0)=λ_(L)/(1+λ_(K)/α) is the average number of latent defectsgiven that there are zero killer defects. Using λ_(L)=γλ_(K) and solvingequation (24) for λ_(K) allows one to write λ_(L)(0)=γα(1−Y_(K) ^(1/α)).Thus, equation (14) may be rewritten as

$\begin{matrix}{Y_{L} = \left\lbrack {1 + {\gamma\left( {1 - Y_{K}^{1/\alpha}} \right)}} \right\rbrack^{- \alpha}} & (15)\end{matrix}$Notice that Y_(K) and α are obtained from the results of wafer probetesting, and thus γ is the only unknown parameter in equation (15). γmay be obtained either from the statistical analysis of burn-in data orfrom direct calculation. A direct calculation of γ is carried out byconsidering the details of the circuit layout. This method relies on thecalculation of a reliability critical area [?].

FIG. 4 tabulates the reliability failure probability (1−Y_(L)) inpercent for various values of Y_(K), α, and γ=0.01. Notice thatclustering can have a significant impact on the probability of failure,particularly for the lower values of Y_(K). For example, when Y_(K) is30 percent the probability of failure is

$\frac{1.20}{.452} = {{2.65\mspace{14mu}{times}\mspace{14mu}{greater}\mspace{14mu}{for}\mspace{14mu}\alpha} = {\infty\mspace{11mu}\left( {{no}\mspace{14mu}{clustering}} \right)}}$than for α=0.5 (highly clustered). This ratio decreases as one increasesY_(K), falling to 1.11 at Y_(K)=90 percent.

An important limiting case of equation (14) occurs for α→∞. In thislimit Y_(L)→exp(−λ_(L)(0)) and λ_(L)(0)→λ_(L)=γλ_(K). Thus,Y _(L)=exp(−λ_(L))=exp(−γλ_(K))=Y _(K) ^(γ)  (16)This is identical to equation (5) described at the end of previoussection.

Suppose that all the die from a particular fabrication process that testgood at wafer probe are sorted into bins depending on how many of theirneighbors test faulty. For the nine die neighborhood shown in FIG. 3there will be nine such bins labeled from zero to eight. Die in thei^(th) bin (i=0, 1, . . . , 8) have tested good at wafer probe and comefrom the i^(th) neighborhood, that is, the neighborhood where i die areknown to be faulty. These i die have failed wafer probe testing. Sincedefects are known to cluster, one expects neighborhoods that containmany faulty die to be described by relatively large values ofλ=λ_(K)+λ_(L). Further, since λ_(L) is proportional to λ_(K), dieoriginating from neighborhoods where λ_(K) is relatively large will havea λ_(L) value that is also large. These die will, on average, experiencea larger number of infant mortality failures when compared to die fromregions of lower λ_(K).

Now, let λ_(i) denote the average number of defects in the i^(th)neighborhood. Then, based on the above discussion, one expectsλ_(i)>λ_(j) for i>j. Further, since die in the i^(th) bin all come fromthe i^(th) neighborhood, any latent defects present in this bin shouldbe randomly distributed among the die. Thus, withλ_(i)=λ_(Ki)+λ_(Li)  (17)it follows thatY _(Li)=exp(−λ_(Li))  (18)for all i=0, 1, . . . , 8. Equation (18) gives the reliability yield fordie in the i^(th) bin.

Note that while it is tempting to writeY_(Li)=exp(−λ_(Li))=exp(−γλ_(Ki))=Y_(Ki) ^(γ), this is not correct. Thisis most easily seen by considering die in bin 0, where λ_(K0)=0, butλ_(L0)≠0. Thus, although die from bin 0 come from regions with no killerdefects, they may still contain latent defects.

Probability theory is used to calculate the value of λ_(Li) for eachi=0, 1, . . . , 8. These values are then used in equation (18) toestimate the reliability yield in the i^(th) bin. As a starting point,it is assumed that defects are distributed over the 9-die neighborhoodaccording to negative binomial statistics. Thus, the probability ofexactly N defects is given by equation (8) with λ replaced by λ₉, theaverage number of defects over the 9-die neighborhood. To incorporateneighborhood information let D(i) be the event that exactly i die in the9-die neighborhood are faulty. Then P[K(m)L(n)|D(i)] is the probabilitythat there are m killer and n latent defects per neighborhood, giventhat there are i faulty die in a 9-die neighborhood. It follows that theaverage number of latent defects per chip within the i^(th)neighborhood, λ_(Li), is given by

$\begin{matrix}{\lambda_{Li} = {\left( \frac{1}{9} \right){\sum\limits_{m,{n = 0}}^{\infty}{{nP}\left\lbrack {{K(m)}{L(n)}} \middle| {D(i)} \right\rbrack}}}} & (19)\end{matrix}$Note that the factor

$\left( \frac{1}{9} \right)$is included to ensure that λ_(Li) is the average number of latentdefects per chip, not per neighborhood. Using Bayes' Law,P[K(m)L(n)|D(i)]P[D(i)]=P[D(i)|K(m)L(n)]P[K(m)L(n)], one may write

$\begin{matrix}{{\lambda_{Li} = \frac{\sum\limits_{m,{n = 0}}^{\infty}{{{nP}\left\lbrack {D(i)} \middle| {{K(m)}{L(n)}} \right\rbrack}{P\left\lbrack {{K(m)}{L(n)}} \right\rbrack}}}{9{P\left\lbrack {D(i)} \right\rbrack}}}{where}} & (20) \\{{P\left\lbrack {D(i)} \right\rbrack} = {\sum\limits_{m,{n = 0}}^{\infty}{{P\left\lbrack {D(i)} \middle| {{K(m)}{L(n)}} \right\rbrack}{P\left\lbrack {{K(m)}{L(n)}} \right\rbrack}}}} & (21)\end{matrix}$is used to calculate the denominator. The value of P[D(i)|K(m)L(n)] canbe written as a recursion. That is,

$\begin{matrix}{{P\left\lbrack {D(i)} \middle| {{K(m)}{L(n)}} \right\rbrack} = {{{P\left\lbrack {D(i)} \middle| {{K(m)}{L\left( {n - 1} \right)}} \right\rbrack}p_{L}} + {{P\left\lbrack {D(i)} \middle| {{K\left( {m - 1} \right)}{L(n)}} \right\rbrack}{p_{K}\left( \frac{i}{9} \right)}} + {{P\left\lbrack {D\left( {i - 1} \right)} \middle| {{K\left( {m - 1} \right)}{L(n)}} \right\rbrack}{p_{K}\left( \frac{10 - i}{9} \right)}}}} & (22)\end{matrix}$with the restrictions P[D(0)|K(0)L(n)]=P[D(1)|K(1)L(n)]=1,P[D(0)|K(m)L(n)]=0 for m>0 and P[D(i)|K(m)L(n)]=0 for i>m. Theserestrictions hold for all values of n. The recursion may be derived byimagining all defects but one have been distributed. One then asks howthe last defect may occur and enumerates the possibilities. Substitutionof (22) into (20) completes the calculation of λ_(Li). These values canbe substituted into (18) to obtain the expected reliability yield foreach bin.

FIG. 5 shows the reliability failure probability (1−Y_(Li)) for die ineach bin for various values of the clustering parameter α, Y_(K)=0.50,and γ=0.015. Recall that a lower value of α indicates increasedclustering, while α=∞ implies no clustering. Further, for γ=0.015, oneexpects, on average, 1.5 latent defects for every 100 killer defects.

As expected, FIG. 5 shows that the probability of failure increases asone moves from the lower numbered bins to the higher numbered bins. Anexception to this is the case of α=∞, which corresponds to noclustering. In this case, the probability of failure is constant foreach bin number. Thus, binning provides no advantage when defects followa Poisson distribution.

Consider now the particular case of α=0.5. Notice that the probabilityof failure in the best bin (i.e. bin number 0) is significantly lowerthan the other bins. In particular, die from bin 8 have a failureprobability of 316 percent compared to 0.08 percent in bin 0. This meansthat a die selected from bin 8 is ˜39 times more likely to fail burn-inthan a die selected from bin 0. Further, compared to the averageprobability of failure of 0558 percent achieved without binning (seeequation (15)), bin 0 represents a factor of ˜7 improvement. Note,however, that these benefits decrease as the clustering parameterincreases. Thus, for α=2 and α=4 the best bin shows a factor of 3.33 and2.26 improvement over the no binning case, respectively.

Although FIG. 5 indicates the potential of binning for improvedreliability, it is important to realize that the usefulness of thistechnique depends significantly on the fraction of die in each bin. Thisis illustrated in FIG. 6 where the fraction of die in each bin is shownfor α=0.5, 2.0, 4.0 and ∞. With α=0.5, most of the defects will beclustered together and there will be many neighborhoods with few, ifany, defects. The result is a large number of die in the lower numberedbins. In particular, bin 0 contains ˜40 percent of the die. Whenclustering decreases (α increases), however, the defects get distributedmore evenly among the neighborhoods. For the more realistic value ofα=2.0, this results in fewer die in the best bin with the maximum numberof die in bin 2. For α=4 this effect is accentuated and the highernumbered bins become more heavily populated. Thus, as clusteringdecreases, fewer die are present in the lower numbered bins. Note thatthe bin variation for α=∞ is quite irrelevant since the probability offailure is the same in each bin when no clustering is present. Indeed,the bin variation for α=∞ is based solely on the wafer probe yieldY_(K). This illustrates the important point that FIGS. 5 and 6 must beexamined together to accurately evaluate the effectiveness of binning.

Finally, it is important to consider how the above results depend on thewafer probe yield Y_(K). For a fixed value of α and γ, low yields implythat, on average, a greater number of defects (both killer and latent)get distributed over each neighborhood. Thus, as the yield decreases,one expects a higher failure probability in each bin and a lowerfraction of die in the lower numbered bins. These effects areillustrated in FIG. 7 for γ=0.015, α=2.0, and Y_(K) ranging from 0.10 to0.90. Note that the bottom curve shows the probability of failure in thebest bin divided by the average probability of failure obtained withoutbinning. This ratio indicates the reliability improvement one sees inthe best bin as compared to the lot taken as a whole. Note that whilethis ratio is maximum for low yields, the fraction of die present in thebest bin under these circumstances is generally quite small.

Accordingly, it can be seen that the analytical model of the presentinvention accurately estimates the number of early-life reliability(burn-in) failures one can expect when employing the technique ofbinning. Predictions based on this model indicate that the fraction ofdie failing burn-in testing increases as one moves up in bin number.However, the number of die in each bin is shown to be dependent on thedegree of clustering over a neighborhood; the greater the clustering,the greater the number of die in the lower numbered bins. Consequently,the advantage of binning, as well as the number of die available fromthe best bin, increases with increased clustering.

Another aspect of the invention utilizes an integrated yield reliabilitymodel to estimate the burn-in failure rate for chips containingredundant circuits that can be repaired to overcome manufacturingdefects. These include, without limitation, repairable memory chips andother chips such as processors incorporating embedded repairablememories.

Memory die are used in a large number of MCMs, particularly in video andimage processing applications. Modeling and understanding burn-infall-out for such circuits is therefore of significant interest to theindustry. Memory circuits require special considerations because theyare generally repairable. Indeed, for over two decades now (since 64KD-RAMs), memory chip manufacturers have employed on-chip redundancy toreplace faulty cells and repair defective memory circuits. While thiscan result in a significant increase in yield, it has been found thatrepaired memory chips are less reliable than chips without repairs. Thisis generally not due to any inherent weakness in the repair process, butresults from the fact that defects tend to cluster on semiconductorwafers; a defect in a die increases the chance of a second defectnearby. While many of these defects can be repaired, some may be too“small” to be detected at initial testing, and can cause reliability(burn-in) failures.

Accordingly, it has been found that the integrated yield-reliabilitymodel described above can be extended to estimate the burn-in fall-outof repaired and unrepaired memory die, and therefore quantify the effectof repairs on the reliability of memory die. The model is based on theclustering of defects and the experimentally verified relation betweencatastrophic defects (detectable at wafer probe testing) and latentdefects (causing burn-in or reliability failures). For example, themodel can be used to calculate the probability that a die with a givennumber of repairs results in a burn-in failure. It will be shown that adie that has been repaired can present a far greater reliability riskthan a die with no repairs. In applications with varying reliabilityrequirements, this information can ensure proper selection of memorydie. Applications requiring the highest reliability should, thereforepreferably use memory die with no repairs.

The yield-reliability model described above can be applied to determinethe reliability of a memory chip that has been repaired exactly m times.The clustering of defects suggests that a chip that has been repaired ismore likely to contain latent defects than a chip with no repairs, andtherefore, that repaired chips presents a greater reliability risk. Thedegree to which this statement is true can be quantified as follows.

A typical memory chip consists of a memory array(s) along with somecontrol circuitry, (e.g. decoders, read/write enable lines), as shown inFIG. 8. Defect tolerance for such chips is generally limited to afraction of the total chip area, leaving certain areas of the chipvulnerable to killer defects. For example, extra bit and word lines maybe added to the memory array with no redundancy in the remainingsections of the circuit. This limits repairability to the memory array.Under such a scheme, killer defects affecting other areas of the chiptypically can not be repaired and result in yield loss. While it isassumed here that a memory chip consists of repairable andnon-repairable sections, the following analysis is quite general, and noreference is made to any particular redundancy scheme.

It is often convenient to consider killer defects separately from latentdefects. Thus, to obtain the probability of exactly m killer defects,P[K(m)], regardless of the number of latent defects, one can sumP[K(m)L(n)] over n. The result is

$\begin{matrix}{{P\left\lbrack {K(m)} \right\rbrack} = {\frac{\Gamma\left( {\alpha + m} \right)}{{m!}{\Gamma(\alpha)}}\frac{\left( \frac{\lambda_{K}}{\alpha} \right)^{m}}{\left( {1 + \frac{\lambda_{K}}{\alpha}} \right)^{\alpha + m}}}} & (23)\end{matrix}$where λ_(K)=p_(K)λ. Thus, the number of killer defects follows anegative binomial distribution with parameters (λ_(K), α). For m=0equation (23) gives

$\begin{matrix}{Y_{K} = {{P\left\lbrack {K(0)} \right\rbrack} = \left( {1 + \frac{\lambda_{K}}{\alpha}} \right)^{- \alpha}}} & (24)\end{matrix}$Y_(K) is often termed the perfect wafer probe yield to distinguish itfrom the yield achievable with repairable or redundant circuits. It issimply the probability of zero killer defects.

To incorporate repairability one must consider the probability that akiller defect can be repaired. If it is assumed that a given defect isjust as likely to land anywhere within the chip area, then theprobability that a killer defect lands within the non-repairable area,A_(NR), is given by the ratio p_(NR)=A_(NR)/A_(T), where A_(T) is thetotal area of the chip. Similarly, the probability that a given defectis repairable is given by p_(R)=A_(R)/A_(T), where A_(R) is therepairable area of the chip. Note that p_(R)+p_(NR)=1.

Now, let G(i) be the event that a chip is functional and contains ikiller defects. As the chip is functional, the i killer defects musthave been repairable. Thus,P[G(i)]=p _(R) ^(i) P[K(i)]  (25)The effective wafer probe yield with repair, Y_(Keff), is therefore

$\begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{Y_{Keff} = {\sum\limits_{i = 0}^{\infty}{P\left\lbrack {G(i)} \right\rbrack}}} \\{= \left\lbrack {1 + \frac{\lambda_{Keff}}{\alpha}} \right\rbrack^{- \alpha}}\end{matrix} & (26)\end{matrix}$where λ_(Keff)=(1−p_(R))λ_(K)=p_(NR)λ_(K). Thus, repairability has theeffect of reducing the average number of killer defects from λ_(K) top_(NR)λ_(K). Note that extending the sum to infinity assumes that thereis no limit to the number of repairs that can be made. This is justifiedby the fact that the probability of more than ˜5 repairs is negligiblysmall for any reasonable wafer probe yield encountered in practice.

As a numerical example, suppose that 90 percent of the chip area isrepairable. This implies that p_(NR)=0.10. If λ_(K)=1 and α=2, thenY_(Keff)=0.91. With no repair capabilities, p_(NR)=1, and the yield isY_(K)=0.44. Thus, repairability can have a very significant impact onwafer probe yield.

After defining the perfect wafer probe yield as Y_(K)=P[K(0)], one maybe tempted to define the reliability yield as the probability of zerolatent defects, Y_(L)=P[L(0)]. This definition, however, is not correct.Indeed, while P[L(0)] does give the probability of zero latent defects,it says nothing about the number of killer defects. Thus, a diecontaining zero latent defects may still contain one or more killerdefects. Killer defect information must therefore be incorporated whendefining reliability yield. This can be done by calculating theprobability of n latent defects given m killer defects, denoted byP[L(n)|K(m)]. Using Bayes' Rule P[K(m)L(n)]=P[L(n)|K(m)] P[K(m)] alongwith equations (10) and (23) one can write

$\begin{matrix}{{P\left\lbrack {L(n)} \middle| {K(m)} \right\rbrack} = {\frac{\Gamma\left( {\alpha + m + n} \right)}{{n!}{\Gamma\left( {\alpha + m} \right)}}\frac{\left( \frac{\lambda_{L}(0)}{\alpha} \right)^{n}}{\left( {1 + \frac{\lambda_{L}(0)}{\alpha}} \right)^{\alpha + m + n}}}} & (27)\end{matrix}$where,

${\lambda_{L}(0)} = {\lambda_{L}/\left( {1 + \frac{\lambda_{K}}{\alpha}} \right)}$is the average number of latent defects given that there are zero killerdefects. Setting n=0 in equation (27) and definingY_(L)(m)=P[L(0)|G(m)]=P[L(0)|K(m)] gives

$\begin{matrix}{{Y_{L}(m)} = \left( {1 + \frac{\lambda_{L}(0)}{\alpha}} \right)^{- {({\alpha + m})}}} & (28)\end{matrix}$This gives the reliability yield of a chip which has been repairedexactly m times.

FIG. 9 shows the burn-in failure probability P_(f)(m)=1−Y_(L)(m) inpercent as a function of the clustering parameter α. Note that while αcan certainly range from 0.5-5 in practice, a typical value may bebetween 1.5-2.0. The figure shows four curves corresponding to m=0, 1, 2and 3 repairs. The perfect wafer probe yield was assumed to beY_(K)=0.30, γ=0.015, and p_(NR)=0.10. Note also that this implies thatthe effective wafer probe yield, Y_(Keff), varies from 0.71 when α=0.5to 0.88 when α=5.

FIG. 9 shows that chips that have been repaired can have a probabilityof failure that is significantly greater than chips with no repairs.This is particularly apparent when there is a high degree of clustering(low value of α). Indeed, for α=0.5, the probability of failure is 0.68,2.01, 3.33 and 4.63 percent for 0, 1, 2 and 3 repairs, respectively.This means that a chip with 1 repair is 2.01/0.68=2.96 times more likelyto fail than a chip with no repairs. Furthermore, chips with 2 and 3repairs are 490 and 6.81 times more likely to fail than a chip with norepairs. Note, however, that as α increases, the reliability improvementfor chips with no repairs decreases. Thus, for α=2, chips with 1 repairare 1.50 times more likely to fail, while chips with 2 and 3 repairs are1.99 and 2.48 times more likely to fail than chips with no repairs. Thistrend continues as α increases. In particular, as α→∞ (no clustering),the probability of failure becomes independent of the number of repairs.In such a case, repaired memory chips are just as reliable as memorychips with no repairs.

FIGS. 10 and 11 show the burn-in failure probability as a function of αwith 0, 1, 2 and 3 repairs for a perfect wafer probe yield of Y_(K)=0.40and Y_(K)=0.50, respectively. Comparison of FIGS. 9, 10, and 11indicates that the failure probability decreases as Y_(K) increases. Forexample, suppose that α=2 and a chip has been repaired twice. Then thefailure probability is 267 percent for Y_(K)=0.30, 2.18 percent forY_(K)=0.40, and 1.74 percent for Y_(K)=0.50. This decrease in failureprobability with increasing Y_(K) follows from the fact that, for agiven clustering parameter α, the average number of killer defectsdecreases as Y_(K) increases. Since the average number of latentdefects, λ_(L), is proportional to λ_(K), λ_(L) also decreases as Y_(K)goes up. The result is a decrease in the number of burn-in failures.

Let us now consider more closely how the burn-in failure probabilitydepends on the number of repairs and the clustering parameter. Thisdependence is shown in FIG. 12, where the burn-in failure probability isplotted versus the number of repairs for various values of α.

Notice that the curves are very linear with a slope that increases withdecreasing α. In particular, note that the slope goes to zero when α=∞.This corresponds to a Poisson distribution and implies no clustering.

To understand the linearity of the curves in FIG. 12 one needs to take acloser look at equation (28). In particular, when λ_(L)(0)/α<<1 thisequation can be written as

$\begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{{Y_{L}(m)} = \left( {1 + \frac{\lambda_{L}(0)}{\alpha}} \right)^{- {({\alpha + m})}}} \\{\approx {1 - {\left( {\alpha + m} \right)\frac{\lambda_{L}(0)}{\alpha}}}}\end{matrix} & (29)\end{matrix}$The burn-in failure probability for a chip with m repairs, P_(f)(m), istherefore

$\begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{{P_{f}(m)} = {1 - {Y_{L}(m)}}} \\{\approx {\left( {\alpha + m} \right)\frac{\lambda_{L}(0)}{\alpha}}} \\{= {{\frac{\lambda_{L}(0)}{\alpha}m} + {\lambda_{L}(0)}}}\end{matrix} & (30)\end{matrix}$This is the equation of a line with slope λ_(L)(0)/α and verticalintercept λ_(L)(0)=P_(f)(0).

As a measure of the burn-in failure probability for chips with m repairsas compared to chips with no repairs, one may define the relativefailure probability R_(f)(m)=P_(f)(m)/P_(f)(0). Thus, from equation (30)it follows that

$\begin{matrix}{{R_{f}(m)} = {\frac{P_{f}(m)}{P_{f}(0)} \approx {\frac{m}{\alpha} + 1}}} & (31)\end{matrix}$Note that R_(f)(m) provides a simple way to validate the proposed model.Indeed, according to equation (31), a plot of R_(f)(m) versus m yields astraight line with slope 1/α and a vertical intercept of 1. Further,since equation (31) depends only on the clustering parameter α, one canestimate the relative failure probability for repaired memory chips oncethe clustering parameter α is known. This is generally known followingwafer probe testing.

The accuracy of the approximations given in equations (29)-(31) arebased on the assumption that λ_(L)(0)/α<<1, where

${\lambda_{L}(0)} = {{\gamma\lambda}_{K}/{\left( {1 + \frac{\lambda_{K}}{\alpha}} \right).}}$With λ_(K)˜0.5-3 and α˜1-4 for reasonable wafer probe yields, theaccuracy of the approximation depends primarily on the value of γ. Forthe recently reported values of γ˜0.01-0.02, this approximation is verygood. For significantly larger values of γ, the accuracy decreases. FIG.13 shows the exact value of R_(f)(m=2) as compared to the approximationgiven in equation (31). Notice that the approximation agrees well withthe exact value and is essentially independent of the perfect waferprobe yield Y_(K).

As shown above, memory chips with no repairs can be significantly morereliable than chips with one or more repairs. The physical basis forthis is rooted in defect clustering; latent defects are more likely tobe found near killer defects. This concept can be extended to includeneighboring die. That is, die whose neighbors have defects are morelikely to contain latent defects than die whose neighbors aredefect-free. Thus, to select die of the highest reliability, one mustchoose those die with 0 repairs whose neighbors are also free of killerdefects, and therefore have not been repaired.

A detailed analysis of the reliability of non-redundant integratedcircuits, separated based on nearest neighbor yield, is presented above.Application of this method to redundant circuits is carried out in asubstantially similar manner. It is useful to consider the reliabilityimprovement one might expect when selecting die with 0 repairs and 0faulty neighbors. Intuitively, these die should be of very highreliability.

FIG. 14 compares the probability of failure of a memory die with 0repairs to that of a memory die with 0 repairs and 0 faulty neighbors.The perfect wafer probe yield is Y_(K)=0.40 and γ=0.015. Notice that thedie with 0 repairs and 0 faulty neighbors can have a failure probabilitythat is significantly less than that of die with only 0 repairs. Forexample, for α=1.0 a die with 0 repairs has a failure probability of0.892 percent, while a die with 0 repairs and 0 faulty neighbors has afailure probability of 0.155. Thus, a die with 0 repairs and 0 faultyneighbors is 0.892/0.155=5.75 times more reliable. A similar comparisoncan be made between repaired die and die with 0 repairs and 0 faultyneighbors. This is shown in FIG. 15. For α=1 and the same Y_(K) and γvalues given above, die with 0 repairs and 0 faulty neighbors are2.79/0.155=18.0 times more reliable than die that have been repaired.

While the above numbers are very impressive, one must realize that thefraction of die with 0 repairs and 0 faulty neighbors is highlydependent on the clustering parameter α and the wafer probe yield Y_(K).Thus, although these die exhibit a very low failure probability, thenumber of die with such high reliability may be quite small.

Thus, it can be seen that the analytical model presented hereinaccurately estimates the early-life reliability of repairable memorychips. Since defects tend to cluster, a chip that has been repaired hasa higher probability of containing a latent defect than a functionalchip with no repairs. Repaired chips therefore present a greaterreliability risk than chips with no repairs. The burn-in failureprobability was shown to depend primarily on the clustering parameter α;the greater the clustering (lower α), the greater the failureprobability for repaired memory chips. Indeed, for the typical value ofα=2, memory chips with 1-2 repairs were shown to produce 1.5-2.0 timesas many burn-in failures as memory chips with no repairs. This resultwas shown to be largely independent of the perfect wafer probe yieldY_(K). The common use of memory die in MCM and other applications makesreliability prediction for such die of great economic importance toindustry. Such estimates provide the industry with a useful aid whendeciding which die are appropriate for particular applications. Inapplications demanding the highest reliability, only those memory diewith no repairs should be selected for use.

While the invention has been described with reference to preferred andexample embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the artthat a variety of modifications, additions and deletions are within thescope of the invention, as defined by the following claims.

1. A method of determining the reliability of a component, the methodcomprising: classifying the component based on an initial determinationof a number of fatal defects; and estimating a probability of latentdefects present in the component based on the classification, byintegrating yield information based on the initial determination of anumber of fatal defects using a statistical defect-clustering model. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein the step of classifying the componentbased on an initial determination of a number of fatal defects comprisesdetermining a number of neighboring components having fatal defects. 3.The method of claim 1, wherein the step of estimating a probability oflatent defects present in the component based on the classificationcomprises testing a sample of components from fewer than all of aplurality of classifications.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the stepof estimating a probability of latent defects present in the componentbased on the classification comprises testing a sample of componentsfrom one of a plurality of classifications.
 5. The method of claim 4,wherein the one of a plurality of classifications from which a sample istested is a classification corresponding to a maximum number ofneighboring components having fatal defects.
 6. The method of claim 2,wherein the number of neighboring components having fatal defects isdetermined from a neighborhood of immediately neighboring components. 7.The method of claim 6, wherein the neighborhood of immediatelyneighboring components comprises eight neighboring componentssurrounding a subject component.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein thestep of classifying the component based on an initial determination of anumber of fatal defects comprises determining a number of repairscarried out on a repairable electronic component.
 9. The method of claim8, wherein the step of estimating a probability of latent defectspresent in the component based on the classification comprises testing asample of components from fewer than all of a plurality ofclassifications.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the step ofestimating a probability of latent defects present in the componentbased on the classification comprises testing a sample of componentsfrom one of a plurality of classifications.
 11. The method of claim 10,wherein the one of a plurality of classifications from which a sample istested is a classification corresponding to a maximum number of repairscarried out on the component.
 12. The method of claim 8, wherein thestep of classifying the component based on an initial determination of anumber of fatal defects further comprises determining a number ofrepairs carried out on a neighboring component.
 13. The method of claim1, wherein the step of estimating a probability of latent defectspresent in the component based on the classification comprisesdetermining a ratio of fatal defects to latent defects.
 14. The methodof claim 1, further comprising optimizing subsequent testing of thecomponent based on an estimated reliability of the component.
 15. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising testing the component if anestimated a probability of latent defects present in the componentexceeds a specified rate.
 16. The method of claim 1, wherein the step ofclassifying the component comprises separating a plurality of componentsinto a plurality classifications.
 17. The method of claim 16, furthercomprising statistically predicting the reliability of components ineach of the plurality of classifications by testing a sample ofcomponents from fewer than all of the plurality of classifications. 18.The method of claim 1, wherein the component is a die for assembly intoa multi-chip module, and wherein the method further comprises rejectingdie determined to have a reliability below a specified rate.